The Mangawhai Heads Walkway is a coastal track that climbs from the surf beach up onto the headland and loops back along the harbour side. The full circuit takes about three hours at an easy pace; the cliff section alone, from the surf club to the lookout above the harbour mouth, is about an hour return.
The cliff-top lookout gives the best view in the area — the long sweep of beach to the north, the harbour estuary draining out through the channel, and on a clear day, Bream Tail and the Hen and Chickens Islands offshore. The lower track returns along the inside of the harbour past mangroves and tidal flats. Best done at low tide, when the sandbars are exposed; high tide cuts off part of the harbour-side route.